Monsoon Jewellery Care: Why Pieces Go Dark in July, and How to Get Yours Through to October
Every year around the second week of July we get the same message: "My jewellery was fine and now it has gone dark." The jewellery didn't change. The air did. Relative humidity in Mumbai, Kolkata and most of the coast sits above 85% from late June to September, and that changes how every metal behaves.
- Humidity keeps a film of moisture on metal 24 hours a day — that is what accelerates tarnish.
- Brass-based pieces will darken in the monsoon no matter what you do; put them away.
- Stainless steel bases don't react to moisture. Wear those.
- Dry pieces after rain, store with a silica sachet, and keep the box closed.
What humidity actually does
Tarnish needs moisture. In dry weather, sweat evaporates off a chain within minutes of you taking it off. In 85% humidity it doesn't — a thin film of water stays on the metal all night, dissolving whatever is in the air (sulphur from traffic, salt near the coast) and holding it against the surface. Copper and brass react with that film and darken. The plating over them, being porous, lets the reaction through. Two months of this equals a year of normal wear.
Which pieces to retire until October
Anything on a brass, copper or unnamed "alloy" base, and anything in sterling silver you don't want to polish weekly. Be honest about what you own: if a piece has ever left a green mark or gone dark at the clasp, it is one of these. Clean it, dry it thoroughly, seal it in a zip-lock bag with a silica gel sachet (save the ones from shoe boxes), and put it away. It will come out in October in the same condition it went in.
Which pieces to wear
Stainless steel-based pieces. Steel doesn't oxidise in moisture — that is the whole point of it — so the humidity film sits on it and does nothing. Gold plated over steel with an anti-tarnish coat, which is how ENSIA pieces are made, is what the monsoon wardrobe should be built from. Our steel vs brass comparison explains why in detail.
The five-minute monsoon routine
- Got rained on? Rinse the piece under a tap (rain in cities carries pollutants), then dry it completely with a soft cloth. Don't leave it to air-dry.
- Every evening: wipe every piece you wore with a dry cloth before it goes in the box.
- The box: keep it closed, out of the bathroom, with a silica sachet inside. Replace the sachet monthly (or dry it in a warm pan for a few minutes).
- Chains: hang them or lay them flat. Coiled chains trap moisture in the links.
- Once a week: check clasps and the insides of rings — the first places any darkening shows. Catching it early means a wipe rather than a loss.
Sweat is the bigger enemy
People blame rain but sweat does more. A humid commute leaves a chain damp with sweat for an hour, and sweat is acidic and salty. The habit that matters most is the evening wipe — thirty seconds that removes the day's sweat before it sits overnight.
What about the actual rain?
Rain itself is close to distilled water and does little harm to plating. City rain carries sulphur and particulates, which is why we suggest a rinse. Neither damages stainless steel-based jewellery; both accelerate tarnish on brass.
Bag charms and anklets
These get the worst of the monsoon — bags get soaked, ankles are at puddle height. Same rule: wipe and dry the same day. ENSIA's bag charms are steel-based for this reason and survive a season of rain; a brass charm will not.
The full routine, year-round, is in our care guide.
